In vivo potassium MRI of the human heart. Issue 1 (27th August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wenz, Daniel; Nagel, Armin Michael; Lott, Johanna; Kuehne, Andre; Niesporek, Sebastian Christian; Niendorf, Thoralf
• Is Part Of: Magnetic resonance in medicine. Volume 83:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 203
• Page End: 213
• Publication Date: 2019-08-27
• Subjects: cardiac imaging -- heart -- MRI -- potassium MRI -- radio frequency coil -- ultrahigh field MRI; Nuclear magnetic resonance -- Periodicals; Electron paramagnetic resonance -- Periodicals; 616.07548
• DOI: 10.1002/mrm.27951
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0740-3194

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: Potassium ions (K + ) play a critical role in cardiac electrophysiology, and changes in their concentration reflect pathophysiological processes related to cardiovascular diseases. Here, we investigated the feasibility of in vivo 39 K MRI of the human heart. To achieve this, we developed, evaluated, and applied a 39 K/ 1 H RF coil, which is tailored for 39 K MRI of human heart at 7.0T. Methods: The performance of the 39 K/ 1 H RF coil was evaluated by electromagnetic field and specific absorption ratio simulations using 2 (male/female) human voxel models. The RF coil was evaluated at the bench and applied in an in vivo proof‐of‐principle study involving 7 healthy volunteers. The experiments were performed using a 7.0T whole‐body MR system in conjunction with a 3D density‐adapted projection reconstruction imaging technique. Results: For in vivo 39 K MRI of the human heart, a nominal spatial resolution of 14.5 × 14.5 × 14.5 mm 3 within a total scan time of 30 min was achieved. The average SNR within the heart was 9.6 ± 2.4. Conclusion: This work validates the design of a 39 K/ 1 H RF coil for cardiac MR at 7.0T and demonstrates for the first time in vivo the feasibility of 39 K MRI of the human heart.